Officer shoots burglary suspect

An Anchorage police officer shot a burglary suspect in Eagle River early Thursday morning.

Police say the officer responded to an alarm about 1 a.m. at the Family Pharmacy and found the man coming out the back door wearing a mask and carrying a crowbar and a pistol.

Mathew Sanchez, 25, of Eagle River was taken to Alaska Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for a chest wound. He was out of surgery and in critical condition Thursday afternoon, according to police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker.

The officer has been placed on paid leave for the shooting investigation. Under department policy, he will not be named for three days.

Sanchez was out on bail and wearing an ankle monitor after his arrest in March for selling forged prescriptions for painkillers, according to his court record. A charging document in his court file indicates he was arrested after four people tried to fill fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and methadone he had written on a pad stolen from Heart of Eagle River Medical Clinic.

Police searched Sanchez's apartment and found more than 80 prescription pads. Sanchez told the officers he was addicted to the painkillers but denied selling prescriptions, the charging document said.

Prosecutors scheduled a bail hearing Thursday after hearing from his father, a court-appointed guardian, that he'd removed his ankle monitor, violating the conditions of his release, according to Assistant District Attorney Marika Athens. He was scheduled to appear in court Friday for a change-of-plea hearing.